Starting a thread for Haas, and even if I don't end up there (I'll know in a week), I think I have found out enough info about the school to help future applicants out. Please feel free to ask questions here (or check out the Haas thread here calling-all-berkeley-haas-fall-2010-applicants-78476.html ). Current Students who are here to help: braindancer kryzak bbdidge

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Berkeley Haas School of Business

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highhopes

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07 Oct 2008, 20:02

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Kryzak - did you end up doing a student blog?

I've been reading them periodically and it seems like they do a good job. I especially like all the pictures, I don't really like reading online too much :-D

kryzak

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07 Oct 2008, 20:15

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highhopes

I'm one of the bloggers for the Haas Student Blogs... it's up to you to guess which one I am.

One of our goals was to put lots of pictures up this year, since it's more fun to read than just plain text. I'm glad to hear you like it, thank you for the feedback!

kryzak

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08 Oct 2008, 23:23

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Found our video vault... Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE video is here too:

https://www2.haas.berkeley.edu/Videos/Vi ... ideos.aspx

highhopes

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19 Oct 2008, 16:21

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kryzak - do you happen to know what the breakdown in recruiting is like for the health care program? It seems like maybe there is a slant towards the managed care/health plan/policy side, which isn't really what I'm looking for. Obviously there are lots of companies in the area that are more on the biotech side, maybe most of their recruiting is done via the "normal" MBA population.

kryzak

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20 Oct 2008, 00:11

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hey highhopes,

I'm not too familiar with the program other than what you've stated already. If you can write up a specific question here, I can ask one of my MPH/MBA buddies to see if he knows the answer, and I'll post it here for everyone's benefit?

Will that work?

tamg08

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24 Oct 2008, 12:04

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Highhopes:

I have a very similar question/ concern, and I just visited the school this week. I am also in the process of asking several students in the MBA/MPH program about this (I asked around and got the names of a number of students enrolled in the combined program) . I'll post what I find too. No names of course.

PS

The school is incredible, and so are the students! My student guide went above and beyond to answer all of our questions: even those that he wasn't able to answer himself.

unhedged

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24 Oct 2008, 14:54

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Hi kryzak,

I saw earlier that you mentioned in the other about the undergraduate GPA in Engineering and was wondering how GPA sensitive is Haas. My UG was in CS/E from one of the top public engineering schools but is below the range stated. To compensate, I've built an alternate transcript of finance/accounting courses w/ a 3.8 and I received a 710 on the GMAT.

My interest in Haas comes from Energy. I work in consulting for traditional Energy/Utilities right now and was interested in pursuing a career in renewable energy/energy tech and Haas seems very intriguing. I am still trying to find out more information about this.

I apologize if this seems too much like "what are my chances" type question. I really don't mean to ask that, but the range published and the acceptance rate just makes it feel like it might be a lost cause. Seems like many other people are scared off by this as well.

braindancer

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24 Oct 2008, 17:47

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From how I see your profile, your low GPA is quite well offset. Just make sure to explain the low GPA in the optional essay (whatever the reason was). Reason could be "some classes were totally crappy; I couldn't tailor my curriculum; I had more important stuff to do than to study total crap". Then you'll have to explain why did you get your undergrad at a place like that though.

If there was no reason, and you were just fooling around - I still would write that essay and say that you didn't have focus, and upon reflection you realize how wrong it was, and blah blah blah.

kryzak

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24 Oct 2008, 22:06

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pretty much what braindancer said.

highhopes

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25 Oct 2008, 10:50

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tamg08

I forgot until now that I had posted this. Please do post anything you find out.

Kryzak: I guess I'm wondering about the breakdown in hiring of students that complete the certificate program (I'm not really interested in MPH). Looking at their curriculum and top recruiters it seems it's mostly geared towards the insurance/managed care side of things. I'll be honest, I don't want to work for Kaiser/Sutter/Blue Cross, etc. I'm trying to figure out if career services wise there's any added benefit to the program. Like I said, maybe it doesn't matter because there are a lot of high tech marketing classes and such that might be just as good for the industries in the area.

Thanks!

kryzak

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25 Oct 2008, 15:19

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highhopes

Kryzak: I guess I'm wondering about the breakdown in hiring of students that complete the certificate program (I'm not really interested in MPH). Looking at their curriculum and top recruiters it seems it's mostly geared towards the insurance/managed care side of things. I'll be honest, I don't want to work for Kaiser/Sutter/Blue Cross, etc. I'm trying to figure out if career services wise there's any added benefit to the program. Like I said, maybe it doesn't matter because there are a lot of high tech marketing classes and such that might be just as good for the industries in the area.

Thanks!

Hm, That is not my area of expertise, so I'll have to defer you to the official Haas Student Ambassadors at "hsa@haas.berkeley.edu." One of them is in the MPH program, Matt Holman. He should be able to answer the question for you.

https://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/hsateam.html

Hope that helps!

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27 Oct 2008, 09:58

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Sooooo, where's the best (most convenient) place to park my car for 6ish hours while I'm on campus?

unhedged

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27 Oct 2008, 13:49

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braindancer

Then you'll have to explain why did you get your undergrad at a place like that though.

Thanks, Braindancer, I appreciate the advice. The truth of the matter is I chose my local state school (UCLA) which just happens to be one of the ruthless graders and in an insanely competitive major. My program pretty much had the same grading policy as EECS at Berkeley and the competition level is a step behind Berkeley but still pretty intense because many people in my program got into both but didn't want to move.

I just remembered that I took a bunch of programming courses (w/ As) in HS at my local community college so hopefully that'll help me as well.

kryzak

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27 Oct 2008, 14:26

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YihWei

Sooooo, where's the best (most convenient) place to park my car for 6ish hours while I'm on campus?

The only real convenient place is the big parking garage between Durant and Channing, near Telegraph Ave. It'll cost you about $15-20 for 6-ish hours, but it's better than most other options out there.

Yahsek

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27 Oct 2008, 17:25

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kryzak

YihWei

Sooooo, where's the best (most convenient) place to park my car for 6ish hours while I'm on campus?

Found it! Thanks, Kryzak (and Google Maps Street View).

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28 Oct 2008, 03:19

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hi,

I'm trying to research a little more about haas' center for open innovation. the web page says it is involved in research and projects on open innovation models. was just wondering if these projects are open to mba students? i have similar work-ex background, so would be interested in that. anyone here who can clarify my doubts?

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28 Oct 2008, 09:40

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Hello,

I am confused about what 51 (21 core + 30 electives) semester units mean. Is this the total units to graduate or units per one semester?

Also, the site says maximum 5 units out of 30 elective units can be fulfilled through other graduate school courses. Does this mean typically 2 or 3 courses?

Look forward to visiting Haas next week!
Thanks.

kryzak

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28 Oct 2008, 17:56

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sng

Hi sng,

Sorry for the confusion, but that's the TOTAL units you need to graduate. You take 12-15 units per semester.

I think 6 units can be out of the Haas school and still count towards your graduation. But many people graduate with more than 51 units, so that means you can take as many units outside of Haas in other graduate schools as long as you have 51-6 = 45 units taking within Haas.

Hope that helps, and hope to see you next week!
K

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29 Oct 2008, 08:29

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Thank you for the clarification, kryzak.

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30 Oct 2008, 01:01

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Argh, I just spent 20 minutes writing up a post about my Haas visit but then pressed the back button and everything went to hell! I'll try my best to remember what I wrote and write it again...

I made my way across the bridge this morning to visit Haas. It was definitely a day well spent.

9-11AM: Class visit. I sat in on an Intro to Finance core course. I don't have a business background so it was great for me to see what's in store if/when I embark on my MBA. It was finance, so nothing too exciting, but the class was very diverse and the professor was very good about answering questions and facilitating discussion.

11AM-Noon: I met THE kryzak live and in the flesh! He was kind enough to chat with me about Haas and his experiences during his MBA application process.

Noon-1PM: Lunch with students. We split up into 5-6 person groups and had lunch with a current student. Lunch was a good opportunity to chat with a current student over a meal and to get to know some of the other visiting prospectives.

1-2PM: Information session. Two student ambassadors gave a presentation and overview on the Haas program. The talk was very conversational and they stayed late to answer questions. The dean of admissions even stopped by towards the end of the hour.

Even though all the activities that I participated in were very typical of your average school visit, I left very impressed with Haas. There's just something about the program (in a very good way) that I can't quite put my finger on. I think it has to do with the combination of many factors that shape the culture at Haas: small class size, location, quality of students, the program's strategic plan (leading through innovation), etc. One phrase I heard repeatedly was, "confidence and competence without arrogance", and I definitely got that vibe from all the students that I met.

If you are interested in a Haas MBA, I strongly suggest you make a visit. You won't regret it!